How To Make A Website Without Going Broke & Giving Up

Ok, you’ve been stalling for months or maybe even years to make a website for your business. Knowing where to even start is the most overwhelming part of it all. About 5 years ago I started an online business and you guessed it – I needed a website.

At that time I was not web savvy other than doing a quick google search and shopping online. I went to a few web designers but their prices were out of my financial reach at the time. So you know what I did? I decided to DIY that ish. I mean it was my only choice.

To be honest, I was way out of my league and it took me forever to figure out the basic ish like how to point my domain to my website, better yet what the hell was a domain? Thank God! I finally figured it out and put together a cute little site for myself.

A lot of people end up settling for being that “Infamous Instagram Boutique” that tells their followers to DM for a Paypal invoice. But the good news is you don’t have to settle for that sis. You can make a website without sacrificing your rent money or getting stressed the hell out!

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Email Address

Get a domain name

To keep it simple the domain is the name of your website and what your future visitors will type in their internet browser (Microsoft Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari) to get your website. Example my domain name is karmenk.com. You can purchase a domain name at NameCheap.com.

Grab that professional email address

I know it’s super easy to go with the free Yahoo or Gmail email account, but we want to be as professional as possible. Plus none of those big name businesses we all know aren’t using a Hotmail account to email their customers. Plus it’s super cheap and easy to set-up with Google G Suite Business Email. Not only do you get a professional branded email but you also get access to all of the great Google Apps like Google Drive.

And then the actual website

WordPress is my personal favorite to make a website. The next question I get is what’s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com? Honestly, the difference is just hosting.

Hosting provides a place online where all your website’s files and content are stored. WordPress.org requires self-hosting, while WordPress.com does the hosting for you. Because WordPress.com provides hosting for you, it limits the control you have over your website.

I highly recommend going with a WordPress.org and self-host with WPEngine, because you will have total control over your website and the software on it.

How To choose a WordPress theme

Now that you’re set-up with WordPress and WPEngine for hosting you have to choose a WordPress theme. There are free themes that come with WordPress or you can go with a paid team. Picking a theme can be time consuming but I recommend going with either a multi-purpose theme like Divi by Elegant Themes or finding a theme that caters to your specific niche and overall brand style.

I highly recommend the Divi theme because it is well supported and offers endless design options. Plus the built-in drag and drop page builder makes it to see your changes while designing your site.

***I’m patiently saving and manifesting my goals on my vision board. So this post/page contains links from paying affiliates. That means if you buy using the links, you're contributing to my achievement of these goals 🙏🏾. I only recommend products & services I use and love. Btw, this is my affiliate disclaimer. Got it?

Karmen Kendrick

Brand Designer + Strategist

I help creative women design poppin' brands and websites that catch the eyes, hearts, and pocketbooks of their ideal clients. Currently, I’m what you call a side hustler working towards the day I can go full metal jacket, don’t need the man’s paycheck, ENTREPRENEUR. My current plan is to quit “The Trap” cold turkey as of January 2019. You being here right now and reading this is just helping me get one step closer to my goal. So thanks a bunch!